A band with strong ties to Thomson will be in the spotlight this weekend with a return engagement at Somewhere in Augusta.

"I'm thrilled to have them back," said John Fiske, the owner of the club at 2820 Washington Road, where The Daniel Johnson Band will play at 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Johnson, a 2007 graduate of Thomson High School, netted a one-night show at the club in June, not long after his graduation from Georgia Southern University at Statesboro, where he studied business management.

Fiske said Johnson called him and said the band would play at a private party on a Friday in Augusta, and asked if it would be alright to play at the club that Saturday.

Fiske said he and Johnson talked several times during the course of a week.

"So I had them come in," he said. "The crowd actually loved them. We had a lot of people from Thomson come to see them. So it worked out well for us."

Johnson said he was involved in the Thomson High School Band and in some garage bands, "but nothing too serious."

While in Statesboro, he started playing the guitar. He said he and Cody Walden, from Hinesville, Ga., started writing songs together.

"I saw that he has a passion for song-writing, and he's good at it," said Walden, who has moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he is pursuing a song-writing career. "He's definitely on the right track to make it a career if that's something he wants to do. He's one of the most creative people around."

Walden said Johnson excels at making his own songs a staple of his concerts.

"He appeals to people who want a break from cover songs," Walden said.

"He's always got something fresh and new that he's written," said Walden, who says he fills his Nashville days working at a pawn shop and his nights "playing out as much as I can."

Johnson said he began playing at some Statesboro clubs a couple years ago. He said he and drummer Chris Cook, also of Thomson, decided to put a band together.

Johnson and Cook now share the stage with Lee Hopkins and Logan McCullough.

"Some other guys have come and gone, but these guys have been together the longest," Johnson said. "There's a great chemistry."

Johnson's band, still independent, has prepared a demo CD and is working on an extended play album.

Johnson is a son of Ronnie and Sheilah Johnson, of Thomson. His brother, David, works and lives in Evans.

Fiske, who has been part of Somewhere in Augusta for about 18 months, said he's reluctant to book the same group too soon after a first appearance, but he decided to give Johnson's band another show. For directions to the club or other details, call (706) 739-0002.